178 lines
5.8 KiB
Groff
178 lines
5.8 KiB
Groff
|
||
|
||
PART(8) Minix Programmer's Manual PART(8)
|
||
|
||
|
||
NAME
|
||
part - partition table editor
|
||
|
||
SYNOPSIS
|
||
part [device] ...
|
||
|
||
DESCRIPTION
|
||
Part is a screen oriented partition table editor.
|
||
|
||
While editing you will see six lines of numbers, the first line shows the
|
||
device name and its geometry (number of cylinders, heads and sectors),
|
||
the second shows the start and end of the drive or partition you are
|
||
working on, the last four lines show the different partitions or
|
||
subpartitions. All numbers except those on the second line can be
|
||
edited. Question marks are showed instead of numbers if the partition
|
||
table is not loaded yet. You have to select a device and type 'r'.
|
||
|
||
Editing is a simple matter of moving around with the arrow keys and
|
||
changing the values with + and - (or PgUp and PgDn), or by typing the
|
||
desired value. The '?' key will give a small list of commands, the '!'
|
||
key gives advice on how to make a new entry.
|
||
|
||
The spacebar toggles between showing the size of the partition and the
|
||
last sector on the partition. Useful to check if a partition is adjacent
|
||
to the next.
|
||
|
||
The 'm' key is "magical", it lets you cycle through a set of interesting
|
||
values for the base or size of a partition. These values are: Aligned to
|
||
a cylinder, taped to other partitions (inside or outside), or filling out
|
||
holes. Use this key!
|
||
|
||
Minix subpartition tables or extended partitions may be edited after
|
||
hitting the '>' key. The number of this partition will be shown after
|
||
the device name on the second row, e.g. /dev/hd0:2. Minix subpartition
|
||
tables are shown as is, but extended partition bases are translated to
|
||
absolute offsets on the screen to hide the gory details of their
|
||
implementation from the innocent user. (Hit 'p' if you dare.) The '<'
|
||
key will bring you back to the enclosing partition table.
|
||
|
||
With arguments, part will use the given devices or files. Without
|
||
arguments, part will use all interesting block devices in /dev sorted by
|
||
device number and starting with /dev/hd0.
|
||
|
||
Values that are out of range, overlapping, or otherwise strange are shown
|
||
in reverse video. Values that may possibly be a problem for operating
|
||
systems other then Minix are shown in bold characters.
|
||
|
||
The name of the device is highlighted when it has not been read yet.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
1
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
PART(8) Minix Programmer's Manual PART(8)
|
||
|
||
|
||
Head or sector numbers are highlighted if the partition does not start or
|
||
end at a cylinder boundary.
|
||
|
||
The base and/or size field is highlighted if they fall outside the
|
||
device, if they are inside some other partition, if the base equals the
|
||
device's base (no room for the boot sector), or if the size is zero.
|
||
|
||
Part complies with the good old UNIX tradition of trusting the user. It
|
||
will write any table, no matter how bad. You have been warned.
|
||
|
||
By the way, as far as Minix is concerned there is absolutely no reason to
|
||
make partitions start precisely on a cylinder or track nor does it have
|
||
to be an exact number of cylinders long. Minix only looks at the base
|
||
and size of a partition, the geometry of the drive doesn't have to be
|
||
correct. Other Operating systems can be very picky about partitions that
|
||
are not aligned. Some partition editors may refuse to edit a table,
|
||
others may even make a mess of the table. The only exception is the
|
||
first partition, it traditionally starts on the first track, not the
|
||
first cylinder. All editors must understand this. (Subpartition tables
|
||
are Minix specific, so there is no reason at all for any alignment.)
|
||
|
||
Extended Partitions
|
||
Extended partitions are a mess that is only made slightly better by part
|
||
by translating the base offsets to absolute numbers. It is better to use
|
||
DOS fdisk to create them, but if you insist on using part then this is
|
||
what they should look like:
|
||
|
||
The extended partition entry in the primary partition table must
|
||
cover the whole logical partition space within it.
|
||
|
||
The area thus created is split in segments, each segment contains a
|
||
partition table in sector 0 and one (just one) logical partition.
|
||
|
||
The first entry of a segment's partition table describes this
|
||
logical partition: it's partition ID, base and size.
|
||
|
||
The second entry is an extended partition that describes base and
|
||
size of the next segment (partition table and logical partition).
|
||
The last segment's partition table is empty, or contains one logical
|
||
partition.
|
||
|
||
SEE ALSO
|
||
fd(4), hd(4).
|
||
|
||
BUGS
|
||
You can have a table read, messed up, and written in no time, be careful.
|
||
|
||
You can't type head or sector numbers directly.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
2
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
PART(8) Minix Programmer's Manual PART(8)
|
||
|
||
|
||
Sectors are counted from 0 for consistency, but the partition table
|
||
counts from 1 like DOS addresses them. Most confusing.
|
||
|
||
You can't write a backup copy to a file, that's what dd(1) with count=1
|
||
is for.
|
||
|
||
AUTHOR
|
||
Kees J. Bot (kjb@cs.vu.nl)
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
3
|
||
|